Ebay Australia Post Integrated Shipping

[vidamas2]

Please, please tell me that you are working on a better tool for integrating shipping than "ClickandSend"!  I am originally a US ebay seller but recently moved to Australia.  I have to say it was very simple and straight forward shipping in Ebay USA via Paypal.  Why is it so convoluted and here?  After signing up for click and send, linking my ebay account, importing my sold items, correcting the address (apparently the AusPost webpage thinks Perth is in ACT???), checking out, then finally going to pay for and print my label I find that I can't simply pay via paypal and print out a label - no, you have to pay for courier pickup OR pay at the post office. WHAT??  Why in the world did I just do all this ONLINE - so I can STILL go stand in a line at the post office???  In the US, you pay via paypal and your label prints with postage already paid, and then you drop it off at any post office.  No waiting in lines, no couriers.  Why is it so hard here??

[phorum_junkie*]

You do not have to pay at the PO or use courier pick up if you use the ebay branded satchels or B1,2 and 4 boxes. It is also  cheaper to use the branded satchels and if you must use your own packaging then you may as well just print or write your own labels and take the parcels to the PO to post over the counter.

Many of us are more than happy with click & send.

[phorum_junkie*]

Should have added that I am sure just printing and paying for a label in the US does not give you full seller protection if the article does not have to be signed for and that information is made available on line. If you want seller protection here then you have to prove you have posted to the buyer's address, you get this proof with c&s or if you use regular parcel with SOG. If you don't want seller protection then you are perfectly at liberty to write your own label and use a red satchel or stick on the required number of stamps and place the parcel straight into a red box

[vidamas2]

Oh, you mean the ebay branded satchels and boxes that you have to purchase?  Just another example of how Australians get ripped off:  http://ebaysupplies.usps.com/usps Yep, in the US ebay and the USPS offer free boxes, delivered to your house for free, and you can choose to use flat rate or not.  Also, saying that flat rate is "cheaper" is of course relative.  Today I shipped a parcel weighing 350g for $6.95 in my own box.  None of the flat rate options is cheaper.  And further to your last point - yes, I may as well just print the address label by hand or use Word to make a shipping label and then go stand in line at the post office (that was my point exactly)....there's no advantage going through the agony of clickandsend.  Typically, doing things online should make my life easier, not waste more time.  What would be the point of online banking if you had to select which statement to view and then go to the bank to pick it up?  

[vidamas2]

I find it amazing that you "are sure just printing and paying for a label in the US does not give you full seller protection...". The label is printed directly through PayPal, uses the buyer's registered address (you must use this address to be protected as a seller), and you can add delivery confirmation, proof of delivery, signature, insurance, etc. You can add any option you want. Maybe have a look here and read up a bit about it:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/pay/printing-labels.html

[vidamas2]

I'm glad you're happy with c&s. It's a bulky, awkward, and inept solution, considering how easy it is in the US. That's why I made my original post, in hope that something new and better is just around the corner....and I have to say this is the last time I'll use c&s. If you want to "look at the stars" then look to the USPS and ebay partnership and shake your head at how you get ripped off here in Oz.

[thendreamer]

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@vidamas2 wrote:

there's no advantage going through the agony of clickandsend.  

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Auspost prices are all over the place, if you go to a retail store and buy a 500 gram satchel you will pay $8.25 but if you use your own plastic bag it's just $6.95 at the same post office. 

If you don't know your prices you will lose money and lots of it. Flatrate boxes are good value if you have small heavy items.

[davewil1964]

The reason C&S thought Perth was in the ACT is because that is the default when an invalid address is used. Blame the buyer, they are the one using the wrong format.

The boxes are standard boxes, purchasable from most AP outlets. The eBay satchels are inexpensive (15 or 21 cents). USPS delivers boxes, bags for free? Bubblewrap too? That might be one of the reasons they are going broke.

You are in Australia now, not the US so you need to adapt. Different country, different culture, different laws even.

[harley_babes_hoard]

I will not use click and send. I tried it and with all the extra hassle printing labels, using ink and paper and the website crashing and playing up all the time, it just not worth it to save a dollar.

[blakesus]

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@vidamas2 wrote:
If you want to "look at the stars" then look to the USPS and ebay partnership and shake your head at how you get ripped off here in Oz.

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At least with Australia Post you are likely to get your parcel, of the last 9 items I've bought that have been sent by USPS, 3 of them have gone missing (floating around somewhere in the Chicago sort facility black hole, never to be seen again) and 1 was a month later than it should have been. USPS are absolutely useless in my experience.